7.21.2010

I haven't been slow or lazy on the Farm Reports, no idea what you are talking about. I will maintain that prospects who play well in the Arizona Rookie league really don't mean much, the first real chance to show any good performance is Helena of the Pioneer league so we will be adding in one more team into this edition of the Farm Report.

Helena Brewers (Rookie)

Shea Vucinich - IF - Let's start out with the Crew's 24th round pick in 2010, because he is off to a very nice start. Vucinich leads Helena with 61 total bases and 21 runs scored. He is also tied for the team lead with four home runs.

Cody Hawn - 1B - Hawn was drafted in the 6th round by Milwaukee this year as a third baseman. He's seen most of his time with Helena as a first baseman and has hit the ball well. Hawn shares the team lead with four homers and is tied for second in the Pioneer league with 27 runs driven in - all while batting an even .300.

Matthew Miller - SP - A big righty (6'6") drafted in the fifth round out of the University of Michigan, Miller has been very effective through his first five starts. He's pitched 25 innings and struck out 24 while walking only five.

Best of the Rest: Tyler Thornburg (P, 3rd Round) has struck out 11 batters in six innings... Reggie Keen (OF, Non-Drafted Free Agent) is batting .348.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low A)

Kentrail Davis - OF - After a much needed demotion, Davis has shown why the Brewers drafted in him as a compensatory pick a year ago. Davis is batting .373 with a .475 OBP. Even more impressive are his 49 total bases in 22 games, he may not be long for the Timber Rattlers if he keeps hitting at this pace.

Ryan Gennett - 2B/SS - For a guy who didn't play in the minors in his draft year, Gennett has been a star this season. How good has his year been? He is third in the league in average (.329), second in total bases (172), third in runs scored (68) and first in hits (114). Not bad for a 20-year-old.

Khristopher Davis - OF - The other K. Davis on the Rattlers might be on his way to being named the organization's hitter of the year. Kristopher Davis has been a model of consistency and is posting his best month of the season in July. For the month he's hitting .379 with five home runs and 14 driven in.

Cutter Dykstra - INF - Cutter has played his way back into the discussion for Brewers prospect lists, in large part due to the .301 batting average and very impressive .415 OBP. He may not be in the organization's top ten, but he has shown that it was unfair to write him off after a poor 2009.

Jake Odorizzi - SP - Despite getting touched for four runs in six innings his last time out, Odorizzi is still having a very fine month of July. His ERA in for the month is 2.25 with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings. Odorizzi, fifth in the Midwest league in strikeouts, should be promoted but probably won't be.

Maverick Lasker - SP - After a stellar month of June - 0.89 ERA in 30.1 innings - Lasker has struggled here in July. He's only made two appearances and in ten innings he has an ERA over six. He will likely be a station to station guy and a full year with Wisconsin is not a bad idea.

Sean Halton - 1B - It may not be a stretch to call Halton the Brewers top first base prospect, especially with the performance he's put in with Brevard County this year. On a team where no player was hitting for power Halton has hit nine long balls and driven in 50 runs after an early season promotion. Add in a .289 average and .354 OBP and you've got yourself a legitimate prospect.

Erik Komatsu - OF - There may not be any numbers that jump off the page at you, but Komatsu's numbers have been consistent from month to month. He has hit no lower than .313 in any month and no higher than .320. Komatsu's 142 total bases are sixth in the Florida State League.

Josh Prince - SS - Without improvement, Prince will likely fall off the next edition of the Farm Report. He is batting just .220 in the month of July and has seen his season average drop to .245, not good for a lead-off hitter. His base stealing has been a bright spot though, Prince has swiped 31 to lead the team.

Wily Peralta - SP - It's not like Peralta is having a bad year, it's just that those who saw him pitch a year ago expected him to have a much better year than he has so far. In 2010 he has an ERA of 4.13, a WHIP of 1.40 and 71 strikeouts in 98 innings. All slightly above average numbers, but nothing spectacular.

Cody Scarpetta - SP - Scarpetta has had a similar story to Peralta except for a dominating stretch he had in the early part of July. Prior to his last outing Scarpetta went three starts without giving up a run, striking out 25 and walking four. Utter domination. If he can pitch like that with any degree of consistency he would be a top five prospect. Even so, his 98 strikeouts are fifth in the Florida State League.

Kyle Heckathorn - SP - To me, Heckathorn and Eric Arnett will always be connected because of how close together they were drafted. So far one of them has stunk it up and managed to be demoted (Arnett) and the other has been consistent and pitched his way up a level (Heckathorn). Not bad for a guy that many thought would turn out to be a reliever. He hasn't pitched yet for Brevard County but his numbers at Wisconsin were very good - 2.96 ERA with 67 strikeouts and only 23 walks.

Best of the Rest: Daniel Meadows (P) has a 2.98 ERA and hasn't given up a run in July... Sergio Miranda (Apparently a 2B now) is tied for the team lead with 53 RBIs despite having hit zero home runs.

Huntsville Stars (AA)

Brett Lawrie - 2B - After scorching the ball in June (he hit .360), Lawrie has struggled a bit in the month of July. For the month he's hit only .246 with a .310 OBP. His season numbers still impress though, he leads the Southern league with 174 total bases and 11 triples.

Caleb Gindl - RF - Gindl is having a good month hitting the ball, even if his power numbers don't show it. He's batting .377 for July with more walks (8) than strikeouts (7). The left-handed hitting Gindl has also maintained his early season success against southpaw pitching - he's hitting .351 against lefties.

Taylor Green - 3B - It's still hard to figure out what to make of Green. In the first three months of the season he managed only three home runs. In his last ten games, Green has four home runs. Still a lot of question marks around the former Minor League Player of the Year, but success is always good for the organization.

Zelous Wheeler - 3B/SS - Wheeler is playing out of position at shortstop to keep Green and Lawrie in the lineup every day and his defense has suffered accordingly, although he wasn't exactly a gold glover to begin with. One thing that hasn't suffered, though, is his offensive production. He's swinging the bat as well as he has since April, with a .290 batting average in July.

Amaury Rivas - SP - It's easy to say Rivas should be promoted to Triple-A... because he should. Rivas has a 2.58 ERA in 101 innings pitched, no other Huntsville starter is near that. He also has a team high 73 strikeouts and has allowed only three home runs.

Mark Rogers - SP - If Mark Rogers makes an appearance with Milwaukee before the end of the season, it won't be as a starter. The organization seems to still be watching his innings pretty closely, he rarely makes a start more than five innings even when pitching well. It's understandable, but at some point the Brewers will have to take the kid gloves off Rogers.

Michael Fiers - SP - Fiers made his third start of the season for Huntsville on Tuesday after a promotion from Brevard County. He left the game after pitching two scoreless innings so hopefully there is no injury, but no word yet. His ERA with the Stars was 4.15 through 13 innings.

Best of the Rest: Andre Lamontagne (P), who started his year with Wisconsin, continues to climb the ladder. He has pitched eight innings in Double-A, striking out eight batters with an ERA of 1.13. So far he has made an Axford-esque climb through the ranks.

Nashville Sounds (AAA)

Mat Gamel - 3B - Acceptable numbers from Gamel thus far, considering what he's been through since Ken Macha tried to ruin his career. The third baseman is batting .266 with a .364 OBP and 13 extra base hits in 43 games. Nothing spectacular about those numbers but nothing absolutely terrible either. Just getting back and playing is all you can really hope for from Gamel this year.

Brendan Katin - RF - If and when Corey Hart is traded, especially if it happens during the season, Katin should be given a chance in right field. He's an all or nothing hitter with big-time power, which fans can always get behind. Katin has seen his walk rate improve in each of the last two seasons and has 13 home runs in just 50 games this year. Give the guy a look.

Josh Butler - SP - If he stays in the strike zone, Butler has a chance to be an effective No. 4 or 5 pitcher for the major league club. He's been promoted to Triple-A for now and will certainly get a call-up when rosters expand in September. His numbers at Double-A were mostly good until a blow-up start his last time out. But honestly, he wouldn't be any worse than Manny Parra or Chris Narveson.

Best of the Rest - A handful of home-grown relievers have done a good job with Nashville, Donovan Hand (P) has finally earned a promotion to Triple A... Mike McClendon (P) has a 0.90 ERA in July... Brandon Kintzler (P) has carried over his Double A success and posted a 0.75 WHIP through 13.1 innings.